The sisters’ France adventure continues. Part one, we discovered Paris, Versailles, and Beaune. Our tour continued throughout southern France.
Croissants were consumed daily on this trip.
Bonjour! Unfortunately, my French didn’t really improve as the trip went on. Fortunately, I have pretty good charade skills, I didn’t really run into any problems.
Day Four:
Leaving Beaune, we stopped at Pont Du Gard, the largest remaining Roman aqueduct in France.
We only made a brief stop here. I would have spent all afternoon at Pont Du Gard if I could. There was kayaking and so many hiking trails to explore. We sat on the edge of the rocks soaking in the view while we ate lunch.
That afternoon we continued our journey on the bus traveling south. There was quite a bit of travel time that day, but the Harrington sisters are always prepared with books, sudoku puzzles, and travel boggle. The journey continued to Avignon, a town on the Rhode River that in the 14th century became the residence of the popes.
We explored the colorful shops that sell traditional products made in Provence, like cloth, honey, herbs, nougat candy, and lavender. The strong lavender aroma was trickling through the streets of Provence. I made a little pit stop for tiramisu gelato along the way.
That evening, we ended up at Aix-en-Provence. We were pretty tired from traveling majority of the day and hit the hay to be energized and ready to go for the next evening.
Day Five:
Exploring Aix-en-Provence was one of my favorite days. We took a walking tour with our guide wandering through the small maze of streets. Our group stopped at a small cafe to enjoy cafe au lait with calissons (a traditional French confectionery). The little cookie tasted like marzipan with a coating of vanilla sugar on top.
There was an amazing market in the middle of it all. The herbs were amazing and you were able to create your own spice blend.
The biggest shallots I’ve ever seen.
That afternoon, we ventured to Arles.
Dana took the stage! It was amazing to see how everything was crafted from stone.
Day Six:
That morning started with a visit to the hilltop town of St. Paul de Vance. There were quaint little art galleries and shops embedded right into the stones.
The afternoon was spent traveling through Nice, the “Queen of the Riviera”. I wish we could have stopped in Nice to explore for awhile. I was able to capture the crystal clear bright blue waters at one of our pit stops.
We got to our final destination, to the tiny country of Monaco. That evening we traveled to the top of the hill to see the palace and royal church of the Monaco town.
Day Seven:
It was our last day and we wanted to soak up every last bit of our trip. That morning we took a leisurely stroll through the rose gardens. I honestly had no idea there were so many varieties of roses.
We dipped our toes in the Mediterranean. The water was so cold!
That evening we arrived at Eze where we visited the famous Fragonard perfume factory and created our own perfume! I had no idea the extensive training perfume creators go through. There are people called “noses” that have such a distinct sense of smell that only work 2 hours a day to create the perfect blend.
That evening we enjoyed a dinner with our tour group to say our goodbyes.
I had such an amazing time exploring France with my sisters. It was an experience I will never forget. I highly recommend Globus Tours if you are ever looking to have a scheduled travel excursion.
